Beyonce’s Surprise Album Sets Three-Day Global Sales Record on iTunes

Beyonce on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/Associated Press

Beyonce‘s surprise album “Beyonce” is expected to land at the No.1 slot on the charts, according to Billboard.

The music publication says the singer’s latest album could sell as many as 600,000 copies in the U.S. alone during its first week on Apple Inc.‘s iTunes Store. The official Nielsen SoundScan figures are due out later this week.

World-wide, Apple said Monday, the self titled album sold 828,773 copies during its first three days, which the company called a record.

The entertainer’s last album, “4,” debuted with 310,000 in sales in 2011. Her new album is likely to be the biggest debut week for a female artist since Taylor Swift sold 1.2 million copies of “Red” in 2012.

Beyonce released the new album exclusively on iTunes after posting a trailer on her official Instagram account. Unlike most major releases, it arrived with virtually no notice and no overt advance publicity, and the word was spread through social media channels. She’s billed the release, which features 14 songs and 17 videos, as a “visual album.”

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